Showcard printing machine



May 23, 1933. F. J. COOK SHOWCARD PRINTING MACHINE Filed Feb. 13, 1930mai n b %N% m, mg Z Patented May 23, 1933 DY T TES QP'ATENT OFFKIE.r'nnmr-Jxcooxflor cI-IIcAeo, ILLINOIS, nssien'or. T sHowcAn-n MACHINE00., or

crIIoAeo, ILLINOIS, A. CORPORATION or ILLINOIS S HOW'OARD PRINTINGMACHINE Application filed February 13, 1930. .SeriaI No. 428,035.

1 This invention relates tdiiriprovements in a printing device of atypeparticularly adaptable for printing show cards, advertising. cards,menus, price cards and the like.

i Oneof the important objects of my. invention comprises the provisionof means for readily and uniformly spacing the lines of type upon thebed of the device, said means being adaptable, to the longitudinal or Itransverse positioning of the lines of type, permitting substantiallyrectangular cards to beprinted either lengthwise or crosswise.

Another important featureof the inven tion resides in themeans formounting individual blocks of-type in groups to form words, and meansfor retaining said groups in locked position with respect to the barsupon which the type is mounted.

A, further important object of my invention is to provide means forpreventing lateral motion of thecard or sheet which is beingprinted withrespect to the face of the type, thus preventing blurring of the printedmatter on the cardg Myinvention briefly described comprises a bed plateof rectangular shape bounded on each side by a rack. A plurality of typebars are adapted tobensedin connection with the plate and racks, thenumber of bars used being dependent upon the number of lines of printingto be done on the sheet. The ends of the bars may be removably disposedin the indentations of oppositely positioned racks. The type used withthe device may comprise substantially cubical bodies provided atthe topWith the configuration of a letterof the alphabet. The bottom ofthe bodymay be slotted, thereby forming legs which may loosely straddle the saidtype bars when the typeare in operative position,

A series of said type bodies maybe grouped together to form' a word,said group being clamped on the type bars by clamps adapted-to bepositioned at each end of each group oftype. The clampsmay encircle thetype bars andare provided with laterally projecting springs which whenp0- sitioned adjacent the ends ofeach group of Q type contact the twoouter bodies of the group, firmly pressing the greup of bodies together.

tations may beprovided in the upper faces of thetype bars. The card orsheet tobe printed may be disposed over the typeand may be firmlypressed against the same by means of a roller which passeslongitudinallyover the bed plate.

Gther and further important objects of the invention will be apparentfromthe accompanying drawing and following detail description. In thedrawing, Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view, illustrating particularlythe spacing racks. h .Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line22 ofFig. 1.

' Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. {L is a fragmentary plan view of a the line portion of the device.

11 Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of one of the clamps. h

Beferringmore in detail to the drawing, 1 indicates a'frame or supportsurmounted upon which is a bed plate 2. The plate 2 may; be of anydesirable shape such as square or rectangular. The upper surface oftheplate may be divided into unitsof desirable dimensions by dividing lines3, by which means/the placement of the lines of type may accurately bedetermined. A rack imayborder each longitudinal side of the plate 2,whereas a rack 5 may bound each transverse edge of the said plate. Theendsof a type supporting bar 6 are adapted to be loosely positioned inthe indentations 7 of oppositely disposed racks. It can readily be seenthat the typebars may be disposed either transversely from side rack toside rack or longitudinally from end rack to end rack, and that thevarious bars may be positioned any predetermined distance from eachother.

Thetype adapted to be used in connection withthe present device maycomprise a substantially cubical body8 provided at its ings of theindividual type members forming V the completed design. The bottomportion of the bodies 8 may be provided with slots 10 dividing the lowerportion of the bodies into two legs 11. The bodies 8 may be positionedloosely upon the bars 6, the legs 11 straddling the same.

To form words or to complete designs, as the case may be, type bodieshaving appropriately configured faces 9 may be grouped together, asshown at 12 in Fig. 2. In order to maintain the groups 12 as a rigidunit, a pair of clamps 13 may be provided at each end of the group. Theclamp 13, as shown best in Fig. 5, may comprise a strip 14,appropriately bent to substantially encircle, at its lower end, the typebar 6. .The upper portion of the clamp 13 may be suitably formed toprovide a housing 15 for a laterally extending coil spring 16.

To clamp the various groups of type bodies 8, a clamp 13 may be disposedat each end of each group, the springs 16 being adapted to contact theend bodies of the group. In doing so, the clamps 13 are canted away fromthe end bodies, thus wedging the central portion 17 upon the uppersurface of the type bar 6. To assist this wedging action the upper faceof the type bar 6 may be provided with notches 18. By the provision ofthe said notches, the edge 17, when the clamp 13 is canted, engage inthe notches and are retained therein by the compression action of thespring 16. In this manner the groups of type 12 are positively lockedupon a desired portion of the bar 6.

At one end of the plate 2 adjacent an end rack 5 is a supporting block19 retained in position upon the frame 1 by means of pins or the like20. The opposite end of the plate 2 may be provided with a supportingmember 21 positioned adjacent an end rack 5, the same being bent at itsends, as shown at 22 in Fig. 4, the bent ends being fastened, in anysuitable manner, to an upstanding end stop 23. Disposed immediatelybehind the member 21 is a parallel bar 24 of greater height than themember 21. Thus, the upper edge of the member 21 forms a shoulder 25.

A rod 26 may be pivotally mounted at its ends to the bent ends of themember 21, the said rod extending transversely across the frame 1. Atorsion spring 27 may be operatively mounted upon the rod 26 and member21, the arrangement being such that when the rod 26 is rocked by meansof a handle 28, the rod 26 will return to normal position due to theimpelling force of the spring 27. A series of leaf or blade springs 29may be mounted at predetermined intervals along the length of the rod26, the free ends of the same being adapted to nor mally contact theshoulder 25.

One end of a card or sheet 30 may be clamped upon the shoulder 25 by theleaf springs 29, the face of the shoulder being disposed at such anangle to the horizontal that the sheet proper is held over the plate 2and type faces 9 at an'angle, as shown at 31 in Fig. 1.

A roller 32 may be rotatably mounted between two standards 33 and maycomprise a core 34 of a rigid substance such as metal, wood or the likehaving a surface layer of resilient material 35 such as rubber, felt orsuch similar substance. The lower portion of each of the standards 33may have rotatably mounted thereon a pair of flanged wheels 36 which maybe adapted to be guided by a track 37 comprising a portion of theframe 1. The upper portions of the standards 33 support therebetween ahandle 38 by which the standards, guide wheels and roller 32 may bemoved longitudinally across the plate 2 and type 8. The lowermostportion of the roller 32 may be disposed in the same horizontal plane asthe plane of the type faces 9 and hence when the roller passes over thefaces 9 with the card or sheet 30 interposed therebetween, the lowersurface of the sheet will be pressed in contact with the faces of thetype. The thickness of the card interposed between the faces 9 androller 32 will be taken up by the resilient layer 35 of said roller.

In printing sheets or cards of exceptional length or of diminishedthickness, it can be readily seen that the unsupported end of the card31 may droop and contact the last row of type and upon passing theroller 32 thereover the sheet will slide over the faces of the said lastrow of type, thus blurring the last line of printed matter. Toeliminate'this difliculty, I provide a block 39, similar in constructionto the type bodies 8. The upper portion of the block 39 may be aperturedto receive a small coil spring 40. A plurality of said blocks may bemounted uponthe last type bar and support the end of sheet 30 above thelast row of type. Hence, lateralv motion of the sheet 30 with respect tothe type faces 9 will be effectively prevented.

In operation, a plurality of groups of type 12 may be mounted upon aplurality of type bars 6 each group being locked thereon by means of theclamps 13. It is to be understood, of course, that more than one word orone sequence of design may be locked between two clamps 13, merely byusing spacing blocks (not shown) which may take the form of the typebodies 8 without the faces 9. The type faces 9 may then be inked in anysuitable manner, for instance, by passing a hand inking roller (notshown) over the said faces. A sheet or card 30 may be mounted upon theshoulder 25 and the roller 32 pulled across the type by means of thehandle 38. The card may then be removed and a fresh card inserted.

It is apparent that herein is provided a device upon which show cards,advertising cards and the like may be printed. The machine ischaracterized by the speed at which cards of the above describedcharacter may be printed and also the ease with which the type maybe setup and locked. The machine is simple in construction and contains nomoving parts but the roller unit, which may be of extremely ruggedconstruction. A device of this character may be manufacturedeconomically and will instantly find a ready market.

I am aware that many modifications of my device may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, for instance, the coilsprings 16 may be supplanted by leaf springs; the coil springs lO mayalso be supplanted by leaf springs, hence I do not wish to be limitedexcept as necessitated by the prior art.

I claim is. my invention:

1. In combination, a frame, a plate mounted on said frame, racksdisposed along opposite edges of the plate, means for supporting therear faces of a line of type upon said plate, said means comprising atype bar supported by said oppositely disposed racks, and means formounting type upon said type bar, said means including type bodieshaving slots provided at their rear faces, the type bars being adaptedto engage in said slots and support said type. i p

2. In combination, a frame, a plate mounted on said frame, racksdisposed along opposite edges of the plate, means for supporting a lineof type upon said plate, said .means comprising a type bar supported bysaid oppositely disposed racks, means for mounting type upon said typebar, said means including type bodies having slots provided at theirlower portions, the type bars being adapted to engage in said slots andsupport said type, and resilient means for looking a group of said typeupon the bar as a unit. 3. In combination, a frame, a plate mounted onsaid frame, racks disposed along opposite edges of the plate, means forsupporting a line of type upon said plate, said means comprising a typebar supported by said oppositely disposed racks, means for mounting typeupon said type bar, said means including type bodies having slotsprovided at their lower portions, the type bars being adapted to engagein said slots and support said type, and slidable means for looking agroup of said type upon the bar as a unit, said means comprising a clampmounted upon the bar and operatively positioned at cach'end of eachgroup, said clamps being adapted to maintain the type bodies comprisingthe group in contact with each other under pressure and simultaneouslylock the group as a unit upon the type 'bar.

4. In combination, a frame, a plate mounted on said frame, racksdisposed along opoperatively positioned at each end of each group, saidclamps being adapted to maintain the type bodies comprising the group incontact with each other under pressure and simultaneously lock the groupas a unit upon the type bar, means for supporting a sheet over the faceof the type, and means for pressing the sheet in contact with said typefaces and printing the configuration of the type upon the sheet.

5. In combination, means for supporting a line of type comprisingoppositely disposed spaced parallel racks, a type bar supported by saidracks, the said type bar being provided with a plurality of identations,a plurality of type bodies mounted upon said type bar and means forlocking said type upon said bar, said locking means when in lockingposition engaging in said indentations.

6. In combination, means for supporting a line of type comprisingoppositely disposed spaced parallel racks, a type bar supported by saidracks, the said type bar being provided with a plurality ofindentations, a plurality of type bodies mounted upon said type bar andmeans for locking said type upon said bar, said means including a clamploosely mounted upon said bar, a spring positioned upon said clamp forapplying pressure to the side of the type body, the reaction of saidpressure being adapted to cant the clamp and engage the same in anindentation in the bar.

7 A show card printing machine, including in combination, a frame, aplate mounted on said frame, racks disposed along opposite edges of theplate, a type bar supported by said oppositely disposed racks, means formounting type upon said type bar, and means for normally supporting acard above and spaced from said type faces, comprising an angularlydisposed shoulder upon which an end of the card is clamped and aresilient support for said card mounted on a type bar remote from saidcurd supporting shoulder.

8. In combination, a plate, guides disposed along opposite edges of theplate, means for 5 supporting a plurality of lines of upwardly facingprinting type upon said plate, and means associated With the guides forautomatically spacing the lines of type a predetermined distance fromeach other. In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

FRANK J. COOK.

